Does mounting a TV on wall really cost $900?!?!

That's what I was recently quoted by an electrician.  Really?

I would try using a handman instead of an electrician. That price seams incredibly high.

Really depends on what you have to have done to mount it. $900 seems very high though. I think Best Buy charges $180 for basic mounting with molding covered wiring. Not sure if they do it with wires inside the wall which is what I'm assuming you are looking for with a price that high. 

Seems rather high.   May want to also check Amazon (Home Services).   Will depend on type of wall and what is expected (does a new electrical outlet need to be installed behind the TV, run cables behind wall to audio equipment, etc.). 

are they running cabling inside the wall? do they have to run a power cable, as well as video and audio cable in? If that is the case the job may be bigger than it actually sounds.

Are you providing the bracket?

So, they will provide the bracket.  They will cut a hole on the wall near where the tv will sit, as well as a hole on the wall at the bottom (Sheetrock wall).  Then they'll snake the cables from behind the tv down to the second hole, which is where the equipment (cable box and Xbox only) are sitting on a small cabinet.  There is already an outlet at the bottom of the wall, so I don't think they'll provide a power box, but the truth is I didn't ask about that.  I spaced out when he said how much it would cost. 

 He did say that the hdmi cable is too short, so he'd throw one in.  That gave me the impression that no other cables were needed.

Tx for the feedback.

I also didn't ask about any patch up work, but I'm thinking none is needed since one hole will be covered up by tv and the other by the cabinet.  I'll ask about all of this anyway.

Tx again.

My husband, who is not remotely handy, did pretty much the exact same thing. He installed the mount, cut the small holes in the drywall, used some twine and a coat hanger to guide the wires from the hole near the mount through to the hole at the bottom of the wall, and set-up the TV. It didn't even take him that long. And you can buy HDMI cable at Best Buy or Radio Shack or Amazon.

Seems awfully high. We had a TV mounted some years ago. I don't recall exactly what I paid, but I don't think it was nearly that high. Suggest you get some more estimates.

Thx new.  

Will do unicorn.  Too high a quote.

Can't you get free HDMI cables from George at the UPS Store? Or am I making that up?

HDMI cables are one of those things that vary in price drastically (for no apparent reason since the inexpensive ones work just fine) so please don't ever feel like you need to spend $50 at Best Buy for a cable.  If you can't get one for free then you should be paying about $5-10.  

Are HDMI like the cables that are used for audio speakers? If so, quality can vary quite a lot, depending on what you buy. I'm just trying to figure why there would be such a range of prices, and I'm thinking maybe it does  have an effect on the quality of the picture and sound??? Just a thought.

Hdmi Cables are 99% marketing. There have been numerous tests that show a $67 Monster brand cable is no better than a $1.67 cable from mono price. Knowing how monster cables brand rolls, the monster and mono price cables are likely from the same factory in china.

PeggyC said:

Are HDMI like the cables that are used for audio speakers? If so, quality can vary quite a lot, depending on what you buy. I'm just trying to figure why there would be such a range of prices, and I'm thinking maybe it does  have an effect on the quality of the picture and sound??? Just a thought.

 No, actually, quality hardly varies at all. Always get the cheapest thing you can find, unless you're interested in rewarding thieves.

I think with HDMI the length of the cable and junctions are the primary cause for lost of quality. The longer the cable or the more junctions the lesser the quality of the image. Also not all cables are deemed for going behind the wall. If you are going to spend some money, do get it right by getting the right cable. 

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/how-long-can-hdmi-run.htm

You can run a cable 45ft without worrying too much.

Not said so I do not know, but the problem of the cost could be an apples to orange comparison.

Fire code will allow Low voltage wires to be run inside the wall, however, any AC electrical cord can not be run in the wall.

You will have to have an electrician install a proper outlet in the wall behind the TV for the TV power cord.  Any other way is a fire hazard, against fire code and should a problem happen, it will void insurance.

So, if you got a quote from a Licensed and Insured Electrical contractor the bulk of the cost could be the installation of a proper AC outlet.

A handyman, and I was one, is not licensed to install AC outlets and should never run a power cord thru a wall.

Just say'n that, that could be the price problem.

Later, 

Da

The UPS Store

George

Oh, and @annmarie, yes I have about Eight 10 foot HDMI cables for FREE.

Just come to the Store and ask for George.

Do not out yourself if you have one of those special handles. 

We got a free cable from George last year (thanks, again!) -- works great.

Anything that anyone says about the quality of the signal from an HDMI cable is nonsense.  They work or they don't.    I regularly use 20ft and longer HDMI cables that I've bought for 20$ on amazon.    

Also it seems that we had an outlet added by an electrician around 100$.... so I'd say the price you were quoted is pure ripoff.

$900 is definitely way too high.  Whenever I'm dealing with consultants, I try and always base my assessment of a quote on an assumed hourly rate and how many hours that works out to be.  From my time working with IT consulting companies I usually assume $125-$150 an hour.

So at $125/hr that would come to just over 7 hours worth of work.  So would almost a whole work day be spent doing this?  Unless there are some extenuating circumstances, no.  An electrical outlet shouldn't be more than an hours worth of work.  And mounting the TV sounds like an other hour.  Add on an hour for a 'reality check' (everything takes longer than it should) and you're looking at  $375.  (And I think I'm probably being generous on the assumed hourly rate.)

It could very well be that that this is 'his price' to do it, which means he probably has other more complicated work he could be doing instead.  An electrician is going to bill at a skilled tradesperson rate, whereas a handyman would often bill at a lower rate - and sometimes much lower.  Almost all of what you're doing doesn't need to be done by a tradesperson - and the bit that is appropriate is pretty much the easiest thing they'll get called in for.

mrincredible said:

are they running cabling inside the wall? do they have to run a power cable, as well as video and audio cable in? If that is the case the job may be bigger than it actually sounds.

 Sounds like that is the case and yes it surely can cost that and more.

Thank you everyone.  By all accounts $900 is too high.  I'll look elsewhere.

Keep you posted!

new_2_nj, I would say your husband is remotely handy, given that he managed to do that. It's not amazing, but it's also nothing to snore at.